The Henry Graves Supercomplication, the most complex handmade watch in the world, sold at auction for a historic $24.4 million. The luxury timepiece was crafted by Patek Philippe in 1933 for banker Henry Graves and auctioned at Sotheby’s in Switzerland.
This sale shattered the previous world record for the most expensive watch sold at auction. The same watch had set the prior record in 1999, when it sold for $11 million to Sheikh Saud Bin Mohammed Bin Ali Al-Thani of Qatar’s royal family.
The watch was reintroduced in 2014 to mark Patek Philippe’s 175th anniversary. Its record-breaking price reflects the growing value of Patek Philippe watches in auctions over the past 15 years.
In watchmaking, a “complication” refers to any feature beyond simple timekeeping. The Supercomplication is famous for having 24 such features.
These complications include grande and petite sonnerie chimes that mimic the bells of Westminster, a moon phase and age indicator, sunrise and sunset times, a perpetual calendar that adjusts automatically for months and years, and a celestial map of the New York sky seen from the owner’s Fifth Avenue apartment.
The watch contains 900 individual parts. According to Sotheby’s, it is the most advanced watch ever made without computer help. It was last wound in 1969 but still works perfectly.
The Supercomplication was created as part of a friendly rivalry between Henry Graves and James Ward Packard, a luxury car maker. Both wanted to build the most impressive watch. Packard’s watch featured a sky chart centered over his Ohio home and had 10 complications. Graves’ watch won with its 24 complications.
One unusual feature is a sidereal time dial, which tracks Earth’s rotation relative to fixed stars. This astronomical day lasts 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4.1 seconds. It is unclear if Graves used this function.
Larry Pettinelli, president of Patek Philippe, said, “It’s amazing they did all that without computers. This is one of the most collectible pieces ever offered at auction, if not the most collectible.”
The watch took eight years to complete, from its commission in 1925 to its delivery in 1933. The new buyer’s identity remains unknown.
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